Big Boy Room

It's been pretty quiet around the McWilliams household lately. Not much going on. Just trying to enjoy each other. We are beginning to see signs of new life around here- flowers sprouting, trees budding. Pretty soon we will be seeing signs of life in the vineyard- always exciting around here!

Right after Christmas, we transitioned Jake into his new room. The process went really well. (By the way, for everyone that has been praying for his sleeping habits the last year, we can finally say those bad habits are behind us. He goes to sleep quietly but most importantly, he stays asleep the WHOLE night!) He has a pretty big "playing space" in the middle of the room - perfect for all his trains. He loves playing in there and I am enjoying his toys not in our living room! I'm not quite done- still need different curtains and a bed skirt but you'll get the idea.

Cupcake Heaven!

Last night, my sweet friend Sara, hosted the most yummiest Valentine party EVER- a cupcake party! We were all to bring a dozen cupcakes to be judged and consumed of course! :) We had a great time with friends, laughing, eating, sharing life and expanding our waist lines together. :) Too bad all the pictures are of the food!


the different catagories


"simply sweet"


"decadent chocolate cutie"


(these are mine!)


"box of chocolates"




recipe from magnolia bakery= yum!


"a lime delight"




"valentine treat"


"first love"- won best all around




won most surprisingly delicious- and they WERE!


"valentine circus"- won most goofiest


pomegranate juice and arista champagne


valentine colored izze's

I'm not eating for weeks...

Jake vs Pierce

OK, so you just saw Pierce at 4 months. Here was Jake at 4 months.
(I seriously could not find any pictures of Jake smiling the way Pierce does at this age!)
Do they look alike?

(would someone please tell me how to get pictures side by side- i can't figure it out)

4 Months Old

My sweet baby boy is 4 months old! I can't believe it's been 4 months since he came into our lives and our lives haven't been the same since :)

We had our little checkup this morning and he is doing great. Tipping the scales at 14.13 pounds (50%) and laying long at 26 inches (70%). We've been given the go ahead to start some rice cereal. Sweet thing just watches us like a hawk when we are eating. I think we will start that tonight... it's gonna be fun.

Some little things I want to remember about him right now...
rolling tummy to back beginning of 3rd month
rolling back to tummy end of 3rd month
moved into size 2 diapers
WAY MORE smiley at this age than Jake was (see pictures below!) he is overall a very happy baby
3-4 naps a day
nursing every 3 to 4 hours during the day
bottle of formula right before bed to fill his tummy with a little extra
waking once (normally) around 4 am to nurse
put him in his "johnny jump up" at 4 months
75% of the time he falls asleep on his own- the other 25%, momma needs some extra lovin :)
very grabby- reaches out for most things
has wiggled out of his bouncy seat- opps!
definitely looks like a Habecker

Enjoy my little buddy!
Happy 4 months Pierce!

McWilliams Wedding

A few weeks ago, Mark's sister, Mary Katherine got married. She is the youngest of the McWilliams and the only girl so I knew this wedding would be nothing short of unbelievable! Mary and Scott are high school sweethearts and we are thrilled that Scott is officially part of the McWilliams family! Last year, Scott was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals so they will be living in Florida until he gets called up! ;)
The rehearsal dinner was at Barn Diva on Friday night- one of our favorite restaurants in Healdsburg! And at 1:00 Saturday afternoon they said "I do" in front of immediate family and the closest of Mary and Scott's friends. My dad performed the ceremony so it was great having him and my mom here for the weekend! They got married at a tiny Episcopal church here in Healdsburg and the reception was at Arista. She was beautiful, the ceremony was perfect and the reception was FUN- wonderful food, great band, and great wine (Arista, of course!) :) I'm so mad because we got to Arista and I pulled out my camera to start taking pictures and my memory card was NOT in camera! Huge bummer! So here are some random pictures taken with someone's phone- not the greatest quality. I'll try to post some pictures at a later date when we start getting them back. (the first 2 are out of order)
Such a fun, special and beautiful wedding!

First dance to "At Last". Perfect for them because they have waited forever for their wedding day!

The 3 brothers and their little sister. Be careful Scott! :)


Mark and me and the Bittles.


Al, Janis, David (brother #3), Jake, Mark, me, Pierce, Mary Katherine, Scott, Tatiana (married to Ben), and Ben (brother #2).

Youngest guest attending.


My dad and Pierce.




How fun and beautiful is this?!?
(Mary's favorite color is green)


Baseball cupcakes as favors- totally appropriate!

Bowling

This past Saturday, the McWilliams and our sweet neighbors all loaded up in the new car (it does in fact really hold 8 people- 4 carseats and 4 adults!) and headed into Windsor for some family fun at the local bowling establishment. It was Jake's first time and it was a riot. We walked in and the 3 kids went crazy in all different directions. I'm sure people thought we were nuts. We probably were. Trying to keep them out of other peoples lanes, trying to keep their faces far enough away from where the balls return to you, trying to keep them off the actual lane and on their 2 feet (Jake took about a hundred falls) all while the adults are trying to have a real game. We left exhausted, not to mention dirty. I'm not even going to talk about how about an hour into bowling all the lights went off, strobe lights came on and music went up. I'm also not going to talk about the ginormous FALL I took. I'm not going to talk about how when I let go of the ball it wasn't quite ready to let go of me until about 3 feet down the lane. I have bruises to show for it. But, I'm not going to talk about it! :) I'll let the pictures do the talking.


Up to bowl for the first time.


Sweet Ruby


You have to eat nachos to be a good bowler right?!?




This picture should be the last one. It was right before we left and Jake was WORN OUT! Notice how filthy he is!

Use your imagination and just picture me flying through the air- parallel to the alley and landing on my knees and then on my elbows. Yep. Graceful.




Just having fun!


Sebby was a pro. He is also Jake's idol!


What a fun new kind of slide.